A food activist with roots on a Massachusetts farm, Gus Schumacher had a hand in the creation of an antihunger movement that helps poor people buy more fruits and vegetables while boosting the income of local farmers. The executive vice president of nonprofit Wholesome Wave, Schumacher died Monday; he was in his late 70s.
“The good food movement, the agricultural sector, and the world at large has lost one of the most magnificent advocates ever known,” wrote Michel Nischan, president of Wholesome Wave, in a blog post. Wholesome Wave, and groups with a similar purpose, provide tokens or coupons, often worth $5 or $10, that food-stamp recipients can use to buy additional produce at farmers markets to improve their diets.
Wholesome Wave said Schumacher cleared the bureaucratic obstacles to redeeming food stamps, now issued electronically, at farmers markets. The nonprofit said its incentive program reaches half a million people at 1,400 locations in 48 states. “Gus’s impact on low-income consumers’ ability to not only afford, but buy and consume fruits and vegetables, is undeniable,” it said.
During his career, Schumacher was Massachusetts agriculture commissioner, a senior agri-lender at the World Bank and the agriculture undersecretary in charge of U.S. farm subsidies during the Clinton era.